Taking The Wasted Time And Money Out Of Healthcare

Updated on December 3, 2020

Healthcare is one of the most active and future-oriented career fields around the world right now. However, whether you’re a general practitioner in a small town or the administrator of a large hospital, chances are good that 2020 has you concerned. While patient care is the utmost priority for every medical professional, the lack of necessary supplies, trained personnel, and time to devote to each patient is a strain. 

When things get tough, people turn to healthcare providers for stability and encouragement. The last thing that your office, clinic, or hospital can afford is to feel demoralized. Before you give up and feel ready to drown in a sea of endless bureaucracy, make use of a few strategies to improve efficiency and organization.  

Saving Time Saves Everything Else 

There’s an old saying that simply says, “Time is money.” One of the biggest ways that businesses suffer is by losing time. In the world of healthcare, not only do you lose time, but you lose the energy and resources that are necessary to devote to the well-being of your patients. A papercut never killed anyone, but overwhelming yourself with small tasks that are frustrating to handle means that patient care suffers. The issue of how to best provide care to an already overburdened population with a struggling system is divisive on the best of days. While you may not have the answers or the ability to rescue everyone, making small improvements in efficiency may touch lives.   

Say Goodbye to Inefficiency 

Once upon a time, an office might spend one day a month calling patients with appointment reminders. Likewise, a dentist might send out a postcard to let people know to come in for a cleaning and checkup. These little touches keep people in good health while drumming up revenue, but you lose more than you gain if such tasks take too much time. Automating the process with a positive reminder message and using mass e-mail in place of postcards are inexpensive, time-saving, and less likely to be disruptive to your patients. In fact, many prefer a simple text message. When written correctly, there’s no way to tell it’s not a personal reminder. 

Likewise, outsourcing your billing needs to a private firm specializing in medical billing and coding is likely to sound tempting. However, the cost may be as high as 6% of your revenue. A computer system able to handle your billing needs while keeping you organized is a one-time investment that will save money on a monthly basis. Once the staff learns the basics, it also won’t cut into the time spent on patient care or office duties.  

Outsource Medical Transcription Services 

While it will save you time and money to keep your billing department in-house, the opposite is true for medical transcription services. If you’re not well-trained and experienced, medical transcription can be confusing and time-consuming. Finding an administrative assistant with this skill is essentially expecting someone to perform two jobs while being paid for one. As a result, medical transcription services have always been a lucrative field and a necessary expense for offices, clinics, and hospitals.  

These days, many skilled transcriptionists have gone freelance. Rather than be tied to an agency or on-call for one establishment, these workers can maximize their own income and efficiency by working from home. Outsourcing to a reputable freelancer or website can cut your costs by as much as 50%. By removing travel time and wasted hours in an office from the equation, outsourced transcription services are significantly more affordable.  

Add a Virtual Dispensary 

A lot of wasted revenue comes from expired and damaged products. While every doctor’s office or clinic must be well-stocked, a dispensary requires buying products well in advance, without knowing if you’ll ever use them. Keeping popular items on hand is a must, but for things used rather infrequently, why not keep one or two on hand and forego the extra?  

When products or medications expire, it’s both illegal and unethical to use them. They also can’t be donated. It’s a waste of money and a waste of supplies. A virtual dispensary keeps an eye on expiration dates, lets you know when your stock is running low, and keeps you apprised of all those little things you keep buying even though you use them once a year. It’s a cost-saving measure and also takes weight from the office manager’s shoulders. For larger businesses, such as hospitals, it can help spot theft issues before the problem escalates.   

The Role Of Technology in Healthcare 

Healthcare is becoming more efficient and less bogged down by bureaucratic nightmares when technology is used correctly. It’s essential to have staff who are quick to adapt to new ideas and have a basic understanding of computers, phones, and other gadgets designed to make life easier. By engaging both people and software to keep your business on track, you have more time to do what you do best – keep your patients happy, healthy, and anxiety-free!

The Editorial Team at Healthcare Business Today is made up of skilled healthcare writers and experts, led by our managing editor, Daniel Casciato, who has over 25 years of experience in healthcare writing. Since 1998, we have produced compelling and informative content for numerous publications, establishing ourselves as a trusted resource for health and wellness information. We offer readers access to fresh health, medicine, science, and technology developments and the latest in patient news, emphasizing how these developments affect our lives.